Infection control and epidemiology experts have repeatedly emphasized that the single most important element in reducing the spread of infection is handwashing because a common method of transfer among individuals in the health care environment is with the hands. This fact has been painfully demonstrated in the analysis of epidemic spread.
However obvious and simple this may seem, medical care personnel, including physicians and nurses, are reluctant to wash or scrub their hands as frequently as required by their own protocols. It is estimated that the average time of washing between patients is 10 sec or less. The effectiveness of soap-and-water washing is measured in terms of minutes. Most simply do not wash frequently enough.
The product described herein is designed for repeated use by health care personnel when moving from patient to patient or procedure. The use of alcohol as an antimicrobial dates to biblical times and earlier. Its use was in vogue as a hand dip in the United States in the early years of this century, but it rapidly declined when new liquid soaps containing antimicrobials were introduced. A common complaint after the use of an alcohol dip was drying and chapping of the hands.
In Germany, Austria and Holland, alcohol has been widely accepted as an effective and useful hand rub and dip to the exclusion of most other types. The addition of emollients has eliminated some complaints relating to the natural action of alcohol as a defatting agent. Ethyl alcohol however does not defat in the same way that isopropyl alcohol act as a defatting agent.
Rotter in Austria has shown that a little-used alcohol, n-propyl or n-propanol is very effective, in fact, the most effective alcohol in reducing acquired microbial flora on the hands. When a health care worker handles equipment or patients, bacteria which are not a part of the normal skin flora are picked up and adhere loosely to the topmost skin layer, the stratum corneum.
It is the acquired and potentially pathogenic organisms that must be removed prior to handling another patient or medical device or before donning gloves. In recent years, serious outbreaks of infection and contamination in food and dairy plants have focused attention on handwashing by handlers of food and dairy products. Food, meat or dairy products provide a ready nutrient source for potentially pathogenic microorganisms acquired from natural sources or the handlers themselves.